Israel's chief rabbis call for rally to pray for Ukraine at the Western Wall

"The sorrow and pain of the Jews of Ukraine touched the hearts of all Jews around the world," Israel's chief rabbis wrote in a letter.

 PRAYERS AT the Kotel.  (photo credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)
PRAYERS AT the Kotel.
(photo credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)

The Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef and Rabbi David Lau, published a statement asking the public to attend a prayer rally next Tuesday following the ongoing war and difficult situation in Ukraine.

In their letter, the chief rabbis note: "Whole communities are fleeing in order to save their lives; thousands of Jews have left their homes to the unknown. The ravages of war do not distinguish between man and woman and between a boy and an old man, and we foresee difficult scenes."

The chief rabbis added: "The sorrow and pain of the Jews of Ukraine touched the hearts of all Jews around the world."

The prayer rally will take place next week, on the eve of Ta'anit Esther, The Fast of Esther, at the Kotel plaza.The Rabbis wrote that "Due to the difficult situation prevailing these days in the world and especially among our brothers the Jews of Ukraine, while entire communities are fleeing in order to save their lives; thousands of Jews have left their home to the unknown." 

 People fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine queue to board a shuttle bus after crossing the border from Ukraine to Poland at the border checkpoint in Medyka, Poland, March 8, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/FABRIZIO BENSCH)
People fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine queue to board a shuttle bus after crossing the border from Ukraine to Poland at the border checkpoint in Medyka, Poland, March 8, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/FABRIZIO BENSCH)

They added that "We must plead in prayer to open the gates of heaven and ask God to pass over the evil of the decree, and end this difficult war."